History

The parks district was originally a part of the Tacoma city government, established by the city's 1880 charter. In 1883 city councilmembers were appointed to oversee city parks, and in 1890 a board of park commissioners was appointed by the mayor. In 1907 the Washington State Legislature passed legislation allowing cities to form separate park districts. That same year, the city government created the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma, an entity independent of the city government with its own authority to collect property taxes.